Scrimmage Summary

I just watched the scrimmage on TV. Here are some random comments. Please add your own if you'd like:

Al Harris and Charles Woodson did not play. The coaching staff decided to rest them.

Nice TD pass over the middle from Favre to Driver.

Nice long pass from Favre to Driver.

Greg Jennings made several nice catches, mostly on slant routes.

James Jones made a couple catches.

Ruvell Martin, Carlyle Holliday, and Robert Ferguson each made a few plays. It's hard to tell which of those guys is going to make the roster.

Aaron Rodgers looked decent, but he had to play with the #2 offense against the #1 defense, which probably didn't help his cause.

Fourth string QB Paul Thompson showed some mobility and a good arm. He looked about as good as Ingle Martin and could possibly have more upside.

Jarrett Bush appeared to be the coaching staff's first choice at nickel back.

David Clowney returned a kickoff for a TD, though he didn't do anything as a receiver.

Shaun Bodiford made some good catches and had a nice kickoff return (maybe two, come to think of it).

I didn't see much of Aaron Rouse, though I think he played.

I think Marquand Manuel played with the #1 defense, but was invisible.

A.J Hawk made a few tackles and looked good.

Justin Harrell made at least one good play, getting a good push against Allen Barbre and tipping a pass at the line of scrimmage, but mostly he was pretty invisible.

Favre and Rodgers both moved the ball well in the two-minute offense, only to throw interceptions in the end zone. The red zone offense is still a concern.

Favre's interception was to Nick Collins, who made a nice runback out of the end zone.

Bubba Franks did not play due to his scratched eye. Donald Lee made a catch or two, but there was not much production from the tight end position. As I said above, the red zone offense is still a concern.

Brandon Jackson got some carries and caught a couple passes, including one nice one from Favre to set up a TD run on the next play. I didn't see him get blown away in blitz pickup, but I'm not sure if he had to block on any plays.

DeShawn Wynn got a few carries. I didn't see anything special from him. He looks a bit overweight to me.

Noah Herron continues to look like a scrappy player who could make the roster once again and be a decent #3 back.

#38 Tramon Williams made a couple of good plays to break up passes and intercepted Rodgers in the end zone.

In the kicking competition, I think both kickers were 7 of 10.

On kickoffs, both kickers put the ball just over the goal line on the fly.

Fox 11's coverage was crappy, which made it harder to tell what was going on. They were more interested in conducting interviews than paying attention to what was happening on the field. Maybe they were trying to be like Monday Night Football. Also, I think the video crew was on crack during the kicking competition, because they kept showing different views, and you couldn't get an honest look at how either of those guys were kicking the ball.

Overall, it was a spirited scrimmage, and I didn't see any injuries, so I'll take it. The crowd obviously had a great time on a warm summer evening at Lambeau Field.

Manuel was invisible. That's a good thing. Usually when you notice him he's getting burnt for a 40 yard touchdown.

I'll add to that

I thought Holiday looked very good actually. I think he could make the team as the #4 and end up being the reason why Fergy is looking for a job at the end of this month.

Aaron Rouse made a nice hit as well but wasn't much of a factor either but I didn't see anything to make me want to puke.

I thought Justin Harrell looked great. Maybe my first reaction is a little bias as I really didn't get a chance to watch everything real close (as you said the coverage stunk) but he stuffed a few runs and batted down a ball at the line of scrimmage. He was getting a nice push up front too. I couldn't of asked for a better day out of him in my opinion.

Jarrett Bush should be the frontrunner for the nickel back role. He covers real well.

Abdul Hodge can still hit. He filled that gap quick and nearly took the guys head off.

Brandon Jackson looks like he can be a factor through the passing game for us. Something that I had hopes. He made a nice grab and also had a nice little run. Had he kept his balance on his spin it would've been 6 for him on a heck of a move.

Noah Herron I think runs better than Jackson between the tackles though.

I thought Rodgers arm looks a lot better this year. He has more zip on the ball but his decision making still worries me.

Pass Protection was great. Didn't really see Favre get touched at all or anyone come close. Thought that was a plus and they didn’t' use the TE set either.

Donald Driver was as usual great and Greg Jennings looked pretty good as well.

I think they looked better this year than they did last year. I was there last year so maybe that’s why as I got to really focus on the TV but they looked better as a team this year, especially on the 1st team offense. Two Drives and Two touchdowns is a plus.

Well... I watched this early and live on the local station here in Milwaukee.

The two best performances this evening have not been mentioned at all, and they are more important than anything that happened on the field today.

Number One.

T.T. Has a plan and no matter what some of the mentally challenged say he is on a path to he Packer Hall Of Fame. I will fly in for his induction. I love this guy He has a plan and is sticking with it. Give me a man with a long term vision over a man looking for immediate results and I will take the man with a vision every time.

Number Two.

M.M. is running a great camp. He is fresh in his thinking, the day off tomorrow and every Wednesday will ensure that the team has fresh legs on day one of the regular season.

This has been a challenge. Just look at the teams win/loss record in the first 4 games over the last 5 years.

T.T. and M.M sounds like a candy bar. And it may be the best selling candy bar in Wisconsin three years from now

This team is on the way to a fourth Superbowl It will be Aaron Rodgers as the MVP They will credit the Packer D for the win though and the year will be 2009.

Took the family to the scrimmage tonight... a couple notes to add to the summary to above...

Bush will be the nickel back, live watching him, he was the best CB on the field tonight. Williams looks very fluid as well.

Rouse and Bigby lowered the boom both. Underwood didn't seem to be very agile, he looked very stiff moving around.Manuel had a pass interference call, to me he still doesn't look the part.

Jackson from the stands looked like the back with the most burst, albeit he didn't break anything big, just looked to move within the hole pretty good. He had a dandy catch in the seam with the 1st team.

Clowney is the fastest guy on the field, the kid can flat out move, along with Boniford... It will be interesting who they keep at WR, I think the top 4 will be Driver, Jennings, Jones and Holiday. Do they keep six with a couple of guys for returners. Martin had a big drop in the endzone.

On the kickers, Crosby seems to have the stronger leg of the two... in warm ups, from 47, they both made their kicks but Crosby had another 5 to 10 yards of lift on the ball.

If I had to bet, Thompson either beats out Martin or he is retained on the practice squad. I was impressed watching the kid. Seems to have more zip on the ball in warm ups and just seemed to be poised in the pocket and when he needed to escaped the pocket well with a good scramble. Might try to hide this kid so he makes it to the practice squad.

I will try to write more tomorrow, but with looking elsewhere I didn't pay much attention to the lines.. more comments on their play would be nice.

- WR Bodiford: Explosive on kick returns, and had 2 or 3 good catches at WR. Great speed, and seems to have good hands.

- DE Jenkins: Got good penetration.Provided a pass rush, but also held up real well against the run.

- O-Line: Looked solid. While players (such as Harrell) were getting penetration at times, O-Line starters were able to limit the penetration. Favre had some good time to throw (besides blitzes, but that's not unusual).

- CB Bush: Great in coverage, stuck close to his man and was good in getting his hands up to contest catches. That led a him knocking down a pass or two, which is something you want to see.

- CB Blackmon: Good in coverage (had a wrongful Pass Interefence called on him) and looked natural in spotting the ball in the air, and reacting to it. Good hands, which is to be expected since he did play WR his final year in college.

- DT Harrell: Showed his strength, got a lot of penetration on occasions. Clearly has the ability to disrupt the backfield of opposing teams on a consistent basis, just needs to get in better shape.

- DT Muir: Very explosive off the snap. Not sure about his strength, but he was able to get some penetration against the 2s and 3s based on his burst alone (on a couple of occasions).

- New running schemes: I noticed we had Moll as a 4th TE in the goal line situation when B-Jack scored a TD. I don't recall that being the case last year. Good to see McCarthy implementing some new schemes in hopes of running the ball more with more success.

- WR Jones: He is a physical player, and displayed the ability to make catches in traffic with DBs breathing down his neck. Showed good route running also.

- K Crosby: REALLY strong leg. Like 'ZOMG' strong.

- QB Rodgers (more zip on throws, showed more poise), CB Williams (a couple of nice hard hits on WR Ferggie), WR Holiday (made tough catches to keep chains moving), FS Collins (great anticipation on what was coming, where the ball was going to be thrown), WR Driver (being WR Driver), RB Wynn (has versatility, can block and run... a FB/RB hybrid that McCarthy wants), S Bigby (hard tackler, and some good speed), and QB Favre (crisp, and seemed to be having fun out there... yay).

The Bad:

- T Thompson: He doesn't look like he belongs. On a few occasions, his assignment got free and pressured the QB (Martin/Thompson).

- QB Martin: throws weren't on the mark, and didn't have a lot of poise.

- WR Ferguson: Didn't do anything positive to standout. Made a good one handed catch... while he was on the sidelines. x_x Also didn't get injured tonight, which is impressive, I guess.

- CB Dendy: Below par in his coverage.

- WR Martin: Didn't do anything of note. The only thing going for him tonight was that he has the ability to hold kicks (which shouldn't be underestimated).

- TE Lee: Disappeared in the endzone.

- DE Montgomery: Didn't do anything to stand out against 2nd or 3rd stringers.

- S Underwood: Looked... odd. As someone said above, looked stiff.

- S Manuel: Didn't react to the ball, touched the WR too early. Trying to anticipate too much, and he sucks at anticipating. Was in on a gang tackle, but did nothing to stand out for the right reasons.

- C Blomvall: Struggled snapping the ball at times, which is not what you want (or need) from your C.

The Ugly:

- Coverage of the scrimmage on NFLN (Fox 11). Terrible camera angles (especially the kicking part of the practice), and I swear the broadcasters addressed Thompson as "Coach" and Jennings as "Greg Jenkins". Not to worry though, once Greg hears about this, he'll make sure the announcers never make that mistake again (he'll make their heads explode).

For one, I've been pulling for Bush to break the lineup since that Carolina fan was complimenting us on taking him... he sounds like he can end up being a good CB in the future. And if he's just the nickelback, look at our other two starting CBs Woodson and Harris. I think I like our depth and strength at CB this year..

Then you look at the linebacker corps and see Barnett and Hawk. If at least one of these two, if not both, don't make Pro Bowl this year, I'll be surprised. Our depth here is astounding as well.

The defensive line looks nice this year too. Kampman returning after his first Pro Bowl season. Harrell and Pickett should serve as a nice plug in the middle to stuff the run. While Cullen Jenkins continues to prove himself to be a solid DE in the NFL. The depth at DE is also pretty nice... especially with KGB getting alternate snaps with fresher legs on obvious passing downs.

The safety position is still the weak point of the defense I think. I'm really hoping somebody steps in and takes Manuel's job, but if he manages to do a decent job I won't complain... I'm excited to see Rouse play in a Preseason game where he's not worried about taking a fellow Packer's head off. Preseason will show us who our starting safety will be, no doubt.

If the Bears can rely on their strong defense with their offense, I think we'll manage with our defense and our offense.

I'm really hoping for Driver, Jennings, and Jones to be the 123 at the start of the year. With Holliday, Clowney, and Martin as the rest of the receivers. I hope Jones or Martin can emerge as a presence in the end zone, because we really need one.

I'm a little worried about the running back position, but so much. Morency looks to have proven himself to the coaches; all it takes with this zone blocking system is a decent black who knows how the system works and is running behind a good line. I think our line has improved greatly since last year... so hopefully the Morency/Jackson thing will work for us this year. Who knows... if Jackson catches on between now and the end of Preseason, he could be the starting back going into the season.

I'm gonna keep this short. I would keep 6 wr to help the Offense. If that means two for kick and punt returns I'd do it in a heart beat. Lets keep Woodson healthy. Like Desmond a few years back it's better to start at the 40 or better than the 10 0r 20 every fricken time. Kicker as we know is very imprtant and to me it looks like our rookie has a leg up right now. I'll watch the family night again on the dvr and come up with some more.

I wasn't able to watch the game live but I'm watching in on DVR this morning. Other than the horrible camera coverage where they seem to miss every play, I was pretty impressed with the receivers. It appears that if the ball got to them, they made the catch. It looks to me like Ferguson is going to have to have a big pre season to make this team. The field goal kickers both looked good, but I think that the rookie looks to have the highest upside. It's hard to take a spot from a veteran who has a good preseason.

Defensively, the first team looked good against our second team.

I have always liked Rogers. I think the kid, given the opportunity will be be ok to start with, but in time will prove to be excellent. He is not Brett Favre and as long as we don't expect that of him, he's going to be a fine QB.

Special teams offensively looked good, but that might mean that defensively we looked bad.

Well... I watched this early and live on the local station here in Milwaukee.

The two best performances this evening have not been mentioned at all, and they are more important than anything that happened on the field today.

Number One.

T.T. Has a plan and no matter what some of the mentally challenged say he is on a path to he Packer Hall Of Fame. I will fly in for his induction. I love this guy He has a plan and is sticking with it. Give me a man with a long term vision over a man looking for immediate results and I will take the man with a vision every time.

Number Two.

M.M. is running a great camp. He is fresh in his thinking, the day off tomorrow and every Wednesday will ensure that the team has fresh legs on day one of the regular season.

This has been a challenge. Just look at the teams win/loss record in the first 4 games over the last 5 years.

T.T. and M.M sounds like a candy bar. And it may be the best selling candy bar in Wisconsin three years from now

This team is on the way to a fourth Superbowl It will be Aaron Rodgers as the MVP They will credit the Packer D for the win though and the year will be 2009.

3. Too bad I couldn't see the first two to three series because of the eight hour interview with TT.

4. What's up with the Native American dancing picture painter?

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Right now, I'd say Bodiford will return KO

Who cares if the guy was native american, what's up with that lame comment, the guy could paint and it was really cool to watch.

Click to expand...

First off pal, this was by no means a bash on Native American's. Secondly, how dare you imply that. Thirdly, I used the term Native American to be politically correct instead of using other known phrases. Finally, who the hell wants to watch a guy paint for 6 hours during a football game - and I even own an art store. I thought it was cool to watch - for 5 minutes.

Jackson finished with 6 carries for 20 yards and 2 catches for 48 yards. That's not bad for the limit time he got in a scimmage. My first reaction was not that impressed with him running the ball but after reading up on it and then watching what I read, I was must more impressed with him. Herron lead the team in rushing with 5 carries for 26 yards.

Edit: It was a scimmage so I wouldn't be sold on just about anything yet.

I don't understand this comment. Bodiford and Clowney both looked very promising in this role. I guess the big question is whether either of them can contribute enough to the offense to be worthy of a roster spot. If they continue to do well returning kicks, I would like to see one of them kept as a sixth receiver.